Moskalenko, Kirill Semenovich

Kirill Semenovich Moskalenko was born on May 11 (old style on April 28) in 1902 in the village of Grishino, Bakhmut district, Yekaterinoslav province of the Russian Empire (now part of the Pokrovsky district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine ). Ukrainian . From a peasant family.

He graduated from a four-year primary rural school, two classes of the Ministry of Education School (“Ministerial School”). From 1917 to 1919 he studied at an agricultural school at the Yama station near Bakhmut , where, as he later recalled, the poet V. N. Sosyura studied at the same time ^[2] . I was forced to interrupt my studies because of the outbreak of the Civil War .

He returned to his native village, worked in the village revolutionary committee. During the seizure of the province by the troops of the Volunteer Army, General A.I. Denikin was hiding due to the threat of execution. After occupying the village with the Red Army troops in August 1920, joined its ranks ^[3] .

Civil War and the First Peace Years

Member of the Civil War in the First Cavalry Army . He fought as an ordinary fighter against the troops of General P.N. Wrangel and Ataman N.I. Makhno .

He graduated from the artillery department of the Kharkov united school of red elders (1922), advanced training courses for the command staff of the Red Army artillery in Leningrad (1928), faculty of advanced training for the higher command staff of the Military Academy named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky (1939) ^[3] . During his studies in Kharkov, as part of the school, he participated in battles with gangs in the Don and in the Donbass .

From 1922 to 1932 he served in the 6th Chongar Cavalry Division (until 1924 as part of the First Cavalry Army ), platoon commander of the horse artillery division. During his service in Armavir, he participated in battles with political banditry in the North Caucasus .

1920-1930s

In September 1923, together with the military unit was transferred to Bryansk . Since 1924 - the commander of the battery, since 1928 - the commander of the training battery, artillery division, chief of staff of the artillery regiment.

Since 1932 he served in the special cavalry division of the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army near Chita , first the chief of staff, then, since 1934 - the commander of the cavalry regiment. Since 1935, he commanded the 23rd Tank Brigade in the Primorsky Territory . Since 1936 he served in the 45th mechanized corps of the Kiev military district .

In 1939 he was appointed chief of artillery of the 51st Perekop Rifle Division of the Odessa Military District , with whom he participated in the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-40 , for which he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner . Then the chief of artillery of the 35th Rifle Corps ( Chisinau ) and the 2nd Mechanized Corps ( Tiraspol ). Since May 1941 - the commander of the 1st artillery anti-tank brigade of the RGK, which was formed as part of the 5th army of the Kiev military district in Lutsk . He recalled: “The brigade of enemy tank destroyers was the only one in the Red Army, it was armed with the best 76-mm guns and 85-mm anti-aircraft guns of that time, which were used both to destroy air targets and to shoot at ground-based armored targets” ^{[4 ]} .

World War II

In this position, Major General of Artillery K.S. Moskalenko met the Great Patriotic War . The team under his leadership participated in defensive battles in the districts. Lutsk , Vladimir-Volynsky , Rivne , Torchin , Novograd-Volynsky , Malin , in defense of crossing over pp. Grouse , Pripyat , Dnieper , Desna . From the first battles, K.S. Moskalenko did not lose his inherent coolness, maintained his sharp thinking, personal fearlessness, and was always on the line of advanced batteries firing direct fire. During a month of continuous fighting, being in the direction of the main attack of the enemy army group “South” , the brigade destroyed more than 300 enemy tanks. For military successes, courage and bravery, K. S. Moskalenko was awarded the Order of Lenin on July 23, 1941.

Since September 1941, K.S. Moskalenko - commander of the 15th Rifle Corps as part of the 5th Army of the Southwestern Front , fought with him under the cities of Chernihiv , Nezhin , Ichnia , Piryatin . Then he commanded a horse-mechanized group of forces of the 13th Army of the South-Western Front. During the days of the Soviet counter-offensive near Moscow, he participated in the Yelets offensive operation , in the defeat of the enemy’s Yelets group and the liberation of the city of Yelets .

In December 1941, he was appointed deputy commander of the 6th Army of the South-Western Front and interim army commander. The 6th Army under the command of K. S. Moskalenko participated in the Barvenkovo-Lozovo offensive operation and the liberation of the cities of Izum and Lozovaya . From February 12, 1942 - the commander of the 6th cavalry corps, from March to July 1942 - the commander of the 38th army (Valuisk-Rossoshanskaya defensive operation), after the conversion of the latter from July 1942, he commanded the 1st tank army , with which he participated in battles on the distant approaches to Stalingrad (July – August 1942). In August 1942 he was appointed commander of the 1st Guards Army , with which until October 1942 he participated in the Battle of Stalingrad . At the very beginning of the defensive period of the Battle of Stalingrad, the 1st Panzer Army, commanded by K.S. Moskalenko, attacked the enemy almost continuously for 12 days in a row and delayed its advance. There, at Kalach-on-Don, the run of the 6th Paulus Army to Stalingrad was stopped, almost a month was won for organizing defense in depth and raising reserves ^[5] .

In October 1942 he was appointed commander of the 40th Army , commanding which in 1943 he participated in the Ostrogozh-Rossoshanskoy operation , the first liberation of Kharkov , the Battle of Kursk , and the forcing of the Dnieper .

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 23, 1943, for the courage and heroism shown when crossing the Dnieper and securing the bridgehead on its western shore, Colonel General Moskalenko, commander of the 40th Army, was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

From October 27, 1943 until the end of the war he was again commander of the 38th Army , replacing General N.E. Chibisov . With this army in the 1st Ukrainian , 2nd Ukrainian and 4th Ukrainian fronts, Colonel General K.S. Moskalenko liberated Kiev in 1943 ( Kiev offensive operation ), in November-December 1943 he defended it again (Kiev defensive operation), in 1944 he participated in the Zhytomyr-Berdychiv , Proskurov-Chernivtsi , Lviv-Sandomir , Carpathian-Duklinsk (storming the Dukel pass ), in 1945 - in the Western Carpathian , Moravian-Ostrava , Prague offensive operations.

Post-war time

After the war, K. S. Moskalenko commanded the 38th Army, which was transferred to the Carpathian Military District . Since August 1948 - the commander of the troops of the Moscow region of air defense . He headed the group of military men he had assembled that conducted the arrest of Lavrenty Beria in June 1953: “First, we commissioned the arrest of Beria Moskalenko with five generals. He and his comrades should have had weapons, and Bulganin should have brought them to the Kremlin ... On the eve of the meeting, Marshal Zhukov and several others joined the Moskalenko group, ”Khrushchev recalled ^[6] . Since June 1953 - Commander of the troops of the Moscow Military District . He recalled: “ Khrushchev said that I was appointed commander of the troops of the Moscow Military District and was personally responsible for the arrested Beria” ^[6] . Moskalenko, together with the Prosecutor General of the USSR, Roman Andreyevich Rudenko, participated in investigative measures in the case of Beria and his associates ^{[6] [7]} .

In 1955, he was awarded the military rank of “ Marshal of the Soviet Union ”.

When in 1957, supporting N. S. Khrushchev in the removal of Marshal G. K. Zhukov from power, Moskalenko actively spoke out against Zhukov at a general meeting of the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee. According to the memoirs of Khrushchev, when Moskalenko passionately accused Zhukov for crawling to seize power, Zhukov threw him: “What are you blaming me for? You yourself have repeatedly told me: what are you looking at? Take power into your own hands, take it! ”

Since 1960 - Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Missile Forces - Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR.

Since 1962 - chief inspector of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR - Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR.

For services to the Motherland in the development and strengthening of the Armed Forces of the USSR on February 21, 1978, he was awarded the second Golden Star medal.

Since December 1983 - in the Group of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR .

Kirill Semenovich Moskalenko died on June 17, 1985 in Moscow . He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery .

Kirill Semenovich Moskalenko, later Marshal of the Soviet Union, was a participant in the civil war. An artilleryman in his main profession, he graduated from three military educational institutions. He began the Great Patriotic War as commander of an artillery brigade of anti-tank defense, then he commanded corps (rifle and cavalry), a horse-mechanized group, combined arms and tank armies. From the very beginning of the war at the front, in the battles for Ukraine, the Don and the Lower Volga, he gained rich experience and grew noticeably as a commander. This had a positive effect on offensive battles.

- Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union A. Vasilevsky The business of a lifetime. Second edition, supplemented. - M: Publishing house of Political literature, 1975.S. 306.

• His name was called the Poltava Military School of Communications.
• Honorary Citizen of Tiraspol .
• Marshal Moskalenko Street in Pokrovsk, Gorlovka , Vinnitsa.
• Bronze bust in Pokrovsk (Ukraine).

General A. V. Gorbatov criticizing K. S. Moskalenko for “aimless, continuous attacks on the same points for ten to fifteen days with heavy losses” during defensive battles near Kharkov, said Marshal S. K. Timoshenko (in the presence of N. S. Khrushchev , I. Kh. Baghramyan and K. S. Moskalenko himself), pointing at Moskalenko:

“This is not a commander, this is a free app to the army, a stringless balalaika. [...] For 5 days, our divisions captured more than one hundred prisoners, dozens of guns and mortars, and all because they acted on their own initiative, contrary to the orders of the commander. The entire leadership of the commander is the most shameless attitude towards subordinates. We only hear: “You help Hitler, you serve the Nazis, a traitor!” Tired of listening to endless abuse. Does the commander really understand that his behavior does not mobilize subordinates, but only kills their faith in themselves? I heard such insults in Lefortovo prison from the investigator and I don’t want to listen anymore. At first I thought that the commander allowed himself to talk like this only with me, who had recently arrived from Kolyma . But this is a stencil and applies to each of the subordinates ^{[8] [9]} .

The director and screenwriter, front-line soldier I.I. Nikolaev in the documentary novel “The General ” gives negative characteristics to K. S. Moskalenko:

“With a very dubious military talent, General K. S. Moskalenko was obedient to the Headquarters and ruthless to his troops. Общение с подчиненными строилось на сочетании оскорблений и истерики. Не признавая за командирами дивизий никакой самостоятельности при выполнении ими боевых задач, установленных Сталиным, Москаленко заранее расписывал в приказах — что, как и когда захватить. При этом совершенно не учитывалось, что силы той же 226-й дивизии совершенно не соответствуют этим планам. Неудивительно, что результат, как пишет А. В. Горбатов , “бывал один: мы не имели успеха и несли потери в два-три раза большие, чем противник”. Настойчивые приказы — несмотря на неуспех, наступать несколько дней подряд с одной и той же исходной позиции в одном и том же направлении приводили к бессмысленным жертвам» ^[10] .

В наградном листе К. С. Москаленко командующий войсками 1-го Украинского фронта И. С. Конев указывал:

«... [командующий войсками 38-й армии] генерал-полковник Москаленко — волевой и решительный командир. Много работает, не считаясь со временем и своим здоровьем. Тактически грамотен. Лучше умеет наступать, чем обороняться. При осложнении обстановки мало устойчив…» ^[11] .

Главный маршал авиации А. Е. Голованов вспоминал о К. С. Москаленко следующее:

«...во время войны Москаленко называли «генерал Паника». Сталин говорил, что у него нет лица. Жуков говорит: «Александр Евгеньевич, мне генерал Паника звонил!» ^[12] .

Писатель Г. Н. Владимов , делавший для серии «Военные мемуары» Воениздата литературную запись воспоминаний генерала П. В. Севастьянова, члена Военного совета 40-й армии под командованием К. С. Москаленко, упоминает следующее:

[П. В. Севастьянов] порассказал мне о художествах «командарма наступления», сперва без пользы растратившего свою армию на Букринском плацдарме , а затем переметнувшегося на плацдарм Лютежский , чтобы отнять 38-ю армию у Н. Е. Чибисова — на том основании (которое придумали они с Хрущёвым ), что столицу Украины должен освобождать командарм-украинец ^[13] .

В романе Г. Н. Владимова «Генерал и его армия» К. С. Москаленко аллегорически изображен под именем «генерала Терещенко».

Н. С. Хрущёв в своих воспоминаниях «Время. Люди. Власть» (запись была сделана на магнитофонную плёнку в 1969 году) так характеризовал К. С. Москаленко:

«Я его знаю и с хорошей, и с плохой стороны. С хорошей знаю в том смысле, что он человек, преданный делу, воевал неплохо, проявлял настойчивость и энергию, не щадил себя. Плохие его стороны – нервозность, неуравновешенность, вспыльчивость, грубость, даже больше, чем грубость. Оскорбления, которые он наносил своим подчиненным, всем известны. Люди, которые находились у него в подчинении, неоднократно жаловались мне на то, что он груб, оскорбляет их. Вот его обычный лексикон: “Враг народа! Предатель! Подлец! Судить надо! Расстрелять надо!” Это человек настроения, который очень поддается влиянию. Он на все способен. Особенно если почувствует, что это выгодно для него, что такая гадость как-то оплачивается, то он пойдет на неё. [...] Существуют несколько Москаленко. Один — это генерал, который честно командовал войсками, попадая во всевозможные переплеты на первом этапе войны. Затем он командовал армией, и его активная роль была заслуженно отмечена. Я лично вносил предложение о присвоении ему, уже после смерти Сталина, звания Маршала Советского Союза. Другой Москаленко — настоящий истерик. Я уже рассказывал анекдотический случай, как при нашем отступлении его выгнала колхозница из своего коровника, где он прятался, переодевшись в крестьянскую свитку, и он, сам украинец, выступил после этого против украинцев, кричал, что все они предатели и всех их надо выслать. Вот неуравновешенность этого человека. А есть и третий Москаленко — приспособленец, алогичный и беспринципный человек» ^{[11] [14]} .

• Герой Советского Союза ( Медаль «Золотая Звезда» № 2002, указ от 23.10.1943);
• дважды Герой Советского Союза ( Медаль «Золотая Звезда» № 105, указ от 21.02.1978);
• семь орденов Ленина (22.07.1941, 23.10.1943, 6.11.1945, 7.03.1962, 10.05.1972, 21.02.1978, 10.05.1982);
• орден Октябрьской Революции (22.02.1968);
• пять орденов Красного Знамени (7.04.1940, 27.08.1943, 3.11.1944, 15.11.1950, 28.01.1954);
• два ордена Суворова 1-й степени (28.01.1943, 23.05.1943);
• два ордена Кутузова 1-й степени (29.05.1944, 25.08.1944);
• орден Богдана Хмельницкого 1-й степени (10.01.1944);
• орден Отечественной войны 1-й степени (6.04.1985);
• орден «За службу Родине в Вооружённых Силах СССР» 3-й степени (30.04.1975);
• пятнадцать медалей СССР;
• Герой Чехословацкой Социалистической Республики (3.10.1969);
• двадцать восемь орденов и медалей других государств:
  • почётный Рыцарь-командор ордена Британской империи .

• Полковник (16.08.1938).
• Комбриг (апрель 1940).
• Генерал-майор артиллерии (6.06.1940).
• Генерал-лейтенант (19.01.1943).
• Генерал-полковник (19.09.1943).
• Генерал армии (3.08.1953).
• Маршал Советского Союза (11.03.1955).

• К. С. Москаленко. На Юго-Западном направлении. — М.: Наука, 1969.
• Маршал К. С. Москаленко. Провал контрнаступления немецко-фашистских войск под Киевом в ноябре 1943 года // «Военно-исторический журнал», № 3, 1972. стр. 61-69

• Линия адаптивной радиосвязи — Объектовая противовоздушная оборона / [под общ. ed. Н. В. Огаркова ]. — М. : Военное изд-во М-ва обороны СССР , 1978. — 686 с. — ( Советская военная энциклопедия : [в 8 т.] ; 1976—1980, т. 5).
• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1988. - T. 2 / Love - Yashchuk /. - 863 s. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-00536-2 .
• Великая Отечественная война, 1941—1945 : энциклопедия / под ред. М. М. Козлова . — М. : Советская энциклопедия , 1985. — 832 с. — 500 000 экз.
• Н. В. Огарков. Москаленко, Кирилл Семёнович // Советская Военная Энциклопедия. — М: воениздат, 1978. — Т. 5. — С. 408-409. — 688 с. — 105 000 экз.
• Е. М. Жуков. Москаленко, Кирилл Семёнович // Советская Историческая Энциклопедия. — М: "Советская Энциклопедия", 1966. — Т. 9. — Стб. 705-706 — 1000 с. — 59 500 экз.
• Маршалы Советского Союза: личные дела рассказывают. М., 1996.
• маршал А. М. Василевский. Более полувека в строю (к 70-летию маршала Советского Союза К. С. Москаленко) // «Военно-исторический журнал», № 5, 1972. стр. 44-48.
• Military Encyclopedic Dictionary of Strategic Missile Forces / Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation; Ch. Ed .: I. D. Sergeev , V. N. Yakovlev , N. E. Solovtsov . - M .: Big Russian Encyclopedia , 1999 .-- 632 p. - 8500 copies. - ISBN 5-85270-315-X . . - S.300.

• Moskalenko, Kirill Semenovich (рус.) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• Moskalenko Kirill Semenovich on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
• Moskalenko K.S. In the South-West direction. Memoirs of the commander. Book I. - M.: Science, 1969 .